


a dream you gave me

by ugaytsu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2020-12-24 05:44:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21094358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ugaytsu/pseuds/ugaytsu
Summary: Noya becomes a fan of an indie band with the most awkward vocalist.





	1. Chapter 1

Nishinoya Yuu was in his first year of high school when he first fell in love.

Saeko's band was cool that night; sure, she had been out practicing almost all the time that Noya rarely ever saw her at the Tanaka household lately, so she must have been really focusing on becoming a cool drummer for this band. Her energetic drumming kept the people in the tiny, dingy live house hyped and the small long-haired vocalist of their band had a pretty nice voice.

"Since we're here already you wanna stay for the rest of the show?" Ryu asks once Saeko's band, Taiko Toward Wife (what did that even mean? It probably had something to do with Saeko's crush on the small vocalist, Noya concluded) had said their goodbyes to the crowd.

"Yeah, we never really get to hang out this late." Noya grinned as he held out his cup of apple juice to toast Ryu. "Good thing we have Big Sis as a chaperone."

Ryu has a similar grin on his face when he bumps his own cup against Noya's. "I don't know this next band but Big Sis says they're really good."

They chatter as the next band set up, shoving each other as Noya dared Ryu to talk to some of the college girls in the audience. Of course they weren't serious, the two of them couldn't even get girlfriends in high school, how would they even pick up college girls?

"Ah- Um... M-Mic test..."

Noya paused in the middle of his shoving Ryu to look at the stage. The current band's frontman looked utterly uncomfortable to be standing there, shuffling his feet and fiddling whatever his hands could get to: the mic stand, the tips of his shoulder-length brown hair, the goatee on his chin, the guitar strap and the guitar pick he was holding. Noya snorted but it was drowned in the cheers of the crowd.

"Asahi, you can do it!"

"Go, Asahi!"

"Asahi!"

The band's frontman smiled at the crowd, mouthing a 'thanks' that had several girls screaming. He looked over his shoulder, at the drummer girl- _wow_, she was pretty! Noya didn't notice her when the band came in because he was too busy fooling around with Ryu, but now the pretty drummer girl was clacking the drumsticks together and the deep sound of the bass started.

"Ryu, are you seeing what I'm seeing," Noya said seriously as the guitar and keys joined in.

"If you're seeing the goddess of beauty, yes," Ryu confirmed.

Noya doesn't have time to follow up because the spotlights blink and the vocalist starts singing.

It was like the man was a different person from before: overflowing in confidence as he sung in a voice that was deep and smooth in texture, playing the guitar rather aggressively. He's so cool Noya almost drops his empty paper cup but manages to grip it in time. He'll probably need it to catch the saliva that would drip from his mouth if he didn't close it now.

"Ryu, I think I'm in love," Noya says breathlessly as he grabs on to his friends arm, not tearing his eyes away from the stage.

"Same," Ryu sighs dreamily. Noya was sure he meant the drummer girl.

The first song ends and the vocalist is back to being awkward, moving slightly backward sheepishly as he let his bandmates do the talking segment. It's mostly the clean-cut keyboard player and the silver-haired bassist that do the talking, the goddess drummer and the vocalist are silent.

"I'm Daichi on keyboard, and our cool vocalist here who dreads public speaking is Asahi," the keyboard player says, which gets some laughs out of the audience as Asahi gives a small wave of his hand. "Would you like to say something, Asahi?" Asahi shakes his head furiously, which Noya can't help but laugh at. "Okay then. Suga?"

"I'm Suga on bass," the silver-haired guy says with a smile. He's rather refreshing to watch, Noya noticed. He seemed like a nice person. "And our drummer is Kiyoko. Would you like to say something to our lovely audience?" Suga holds the mic he's holding in front of her.

It looks like Kiyoko is going to say something, but all she says is: "Nothing in particular."

That had an effect on the crowd though, Noya couldn't help but cheer as well, while Ryu clutched at his heart dramatically as he declared to Noya that he absolutely has to marry this girl or he will die.

Saeko sidles up to them when the band is playing their last song: a slower one compared to the first two that they played. It kind of sounded like a lullaby, the lyrics itself about saying good night, and Noya found himself lost in the sound of Asahi's voice.

"So what'd you kids think? Was your big sis cool?" Saeko said as she wrapped one arm around Ryu and one around Noya.

"Sis, you were cool and all but we're in love here," Ryu said as he brushed off Saeko's hold to focus on the stage. Bad idea, as Saeko pulled on his ear.

"What! Appreciate your sister more!" Saeko hissed before letting go. "Well, this band is cool huh? Pretty good for some high schoolers."

Ryu and Noya both looked at her. "High schoolers?" They ask in unison.

"Yeah! That frontman looks older but I think I heard they were all sophomores? Or seniors? Anyway, they're high schoolers." Saeko waved her hand impatiently.

High schoolers.

They were only a year or two above Noya, and they were this good at something. Noya didn't have anything he could really call a hobby, and yet there were people who were good enough to play music at a live house with an audience cheering for them.

"Big Sis, please introduce me to Kiyoko-san after this!" Ryu begged his sister rather pathetically once the next band is on.

"Big Sis." Noya turned to her seriously. "Please teach me how to play the guitar. You also know how, right?"

-

And so began Noya's foray into music, poring over sheet music and practicing keys on the old beat-up guitar he borrowed from Saeko until his fingers were bleeding. It sure hurt for the first few months, but Noya gradually got better at it and was soon trying to start a band on his own.

He still went to Karasu's performances, even dragging friends other than Ryu to share how amazing they were. Other fans of the group already met the members by staying at the livehouse after performances, but Noya could never bring himself to mingle with them, afraid he would just scream that they were amazing and sound like a brainless fangirl.

Now he has a little more in common with the other boy, and trusts himself to carry on a conversation so he approaches Asahi when the other is getting a drink from the bar. "Asahi-san!"

Asahi flinched at his name being called. He smiled at Noya when he turned around to look at him, shy and gentle, and Noya almost wanted to bolt out of the livehouse in fear that his face will explode from how hot it was. "H-hello."

"I'm Nishinoya Yuu from Chidoriyama High," Noya introduced himself. He tried to keep his eyes locked on Asahi but it was hard, Asahi was gorgeous up close and Noya probably looked angry because Asahi was starting to look scared. "I'm! A big fan! Of Asahi-san! I'm learning how to play guitar! Because I think you're cool!"

Asahi's face flushes pink at that, and Noya is so, so endeared by the sight. "Oh... Thank you so much. I, uh, I hope it goes well for you." Asahi gave him a warm smile.

Suga later comes to their rescue when it was just Asahi and Noya standing awkwardly, asking Noya about himself and the type of music he liked. Asahi looked more than happy to let someone else take charge of the conversation. It was okay with Noya, he knew how awkward that long-haired boy was by now.


	2. Chapter 2

Noya somehow managed to force two of his closest friends from school to start a band when he had gotten a little better at playing the guitar. Ryu had a drum background from Saeko always forcing him to try it out, and Chikara was a fast learner that went along with them despite his reluctance. The three of them pitched in to buy Chikara a second-hand bass just so they could form a three-piece band.

At first they did some cover songs like Saeko had suggested to practice, but it just seemed so… Lame to Noya that he decided to try his hand on song-writing himself. He thought his songs were pretty good, although the lyrics were just random words that he wanted to scream out, but Chikara said it was obvious that Noya wrote them just for the sake of song-writing.

“How do you write songs?” he asked Asahi one time after one of Karasu’s gigs. The two of them had gotten a little bit more familiar with each other, with Noya always trying to talk to the older boy. Asahi looked troubled that someone was asking him for advice, so Noya continued: “Asahi-san’s song lyrics sound very heartfelt and genuine, please tell me how to do this!”

“Song lyrics, huh?” Asahi pinched at his bristly chin once he had gotten over his spluttering at being complimented. “Hm. I guess I just write whatever’s troubling me at the time? That way I can get a song written and also get rid of some feelings.” He gave Noya a shy smile. “Hope that helps a little. I’m sure you can do this better than me, Nishinoya.”

Noya thought hard about it the entire night afterwards. What was he troubled about? Noya was a positive thinker and never really got especially troubled about anything. Does this mean he could never get any writing inspiration? He dials Ryu’s number on his phone.

“Noya? What’s up?” Ryu asked when he immediately picked up after one ring.

“Ryu, what’s your problem?” Noya quickly realized that that was a very wrong way to ask it when Ryu started making intimidating sounds. “I meant, are you troubled about anything lately?”

“Me?” Ryu hummed in thought. “I guess how Sis keeps making me buy her sanitary napkins?”

Noya sighed. There was no way he would be singing about having to buy sanitary napkins.

“What’s up? Are you just concerned about me? I haven’t been acting weird, have I?”

“No. Just…” Noya pinched at the skin between his furrowed eyebrows. “Asahi-san said he wrote songs based on his troubles. You know I don’t worry a lot.”

Ryu laughed boisterously on the other end. The Tanaka siblings sure laughed the same way. “That’s just Asahi-san, and the two of you are so different! Why not write a love song so we can charm our way into Kiyoko-san’s heart?”

Noya thought about it for a while. “Ryu,” he said with a grin. “You are a genius.”

The song lyrics Noya wrote that night were about admiring someone from afar, making sure to add things like “black hair” to pretend he wrote it about Kiyoko and not Asahi. Their band performed it a few months later after, after juggling part-time jobs and grueling band practice, along with a few other songs that Noya and his bandmates managed to scrape up together despite being complete newbies at song-writing.

-

As soon as they got backstage, Noya banged his fist on the dressing room wall angrily.

They were absolute _shit_. They weren't as in sync as they had practiced: Ryu missed a few beats of the drum, Chikara's fingers seemed to be stiff the entire time, and Noya forgot some of the lyrics he had written himself. It was a mess. Noya bit on his lower lip angrily.

"It was our first ever performance, of course we're not used to it yet," Ryu tried to say cheerfully, clapping a comforting hand on Noya's shoulder, but Noya could tell he was as frustrated as he was.

"Man, that was embarrassing," Chikara said as he plopped down on the ratty old couch. He covered his face with his hands for a while and Noya almost thought he was crying so he sat down next to him in order to be a small source of comfort. Chikara let out a heavy sigh before turning to his two bandmates. "You know what this means, guys."

Noya stared back at him. "We suck," he said slowly.

"That's right."

"Really suck," Ryu said gruffly. He grinned as he plummeted right in the middle of Chikara and Noya, giving them a rough one-armed hug with each arm. "We should practice a lot more, huh? We can't disband as such a disgraceful group!"

Somehow Chikara's protests and Ryu's laughter made Noya feel a little better, but still the thought gnawed at the back of his mind.

"I can't believe I invited Asahi-san," Noya groaned, burying his face in his hands. "If I'd known that we would suck that bad…"

"Why the hell would you invite him?" Chikara laughed at his misery. This made Noya glare at him. "You should've invited him when we had several successful gigs to our name."

"I'm not that smart, okay! I thought we would do well! I thought we’d do it perfectly!" Noya wailed, pulling at his hair.

A staff member of the livehouse pops their head in to tell them that the next band would be using the room soon and so they pack up their staff amidst Noya's whining.

"You think he's still there? Maybe I should escape through the back door," Noya grumbled once they have their stuff with them. Chikara and Ryu stared at him like he had grown another head. “What?”

Ryu grinned at him. “You know, it isn’t like you to avoid confrontation, Noya.”

They were right. It wasn’t like him at all. Noya would go and talk to Asahi like the cool man that he was, hoping deep in his heart that Asahi didn’t come to his stupid embarrassing first ever performance and Noya could keep up the act that he was a promising musician.

That small hope was crushed when he saw that familiar broad back in the midst of the small live house audience, immersed in the current band on stage that was performing better than Noya’s band could probably. He shook away the thought of comparison. They would get there someday, as long as they practiced all the time and worked hard.

"Asahi-san!"

"Nishinoya." Asahi gave him a small smile when he turned around. "Great job today."

Nishinoya clenched his fists. He knew Asahi was saying it to be nice but Noya didn't want to hear white lies right now. Although he was sure it would also hurt if Asahi told him right now that his band had zero talent and that they would never ever sell. "Can we talk outside?"

"Um. Sure."

They step outside the livehouse, Nishinoya carrying his guitar case on his back. He could feel the cold night air on his face and sniffles slightly from it. It was probably from embarrassment that Nishinoya couldn’t look Asahi well in the eye, so he looked at the other people outside smoking and chatting against building walls.

"Asahi-san!" Nishinoya bows deeply, his back mildly hurting from the weight of his guitar. "I'm so sorry, we did so bad! I'm sorry you had to see such an embarrassing performance!"

"What, there's no need to apologize!" Asahi quickly pulled him up by his arms. Nishinoya looked up to see him with a panicked expression on his face. Ah, classic Asahi, always worrying about others even if they were losers who were cocky enough to invite the object of their admiration to such disgraceful performances. "I think you guys did pretty good for your first performance."

This wasn't what Nishinoya wanted. He didn't want Asahi feeling sorry for him for being such a pathetic performer. "Really?"

"Really." Asahi didn't look like he was lying, and once Nishinoya thought of it he didn't really seem like the type that would lie well even if someone asked him to. Nishinoya copied Asahi's pose, leaning back against the metal railing that guarded them from the road. "You know, I don't think I did anything right that first time we performed. My fingers were all over the place and my voice wasn't coming out properly. Well, I'm still kind of terrible at performing but the first time was the absolute worst." Asahi gave a self-deprecating chuckle while he rubbed at the back of his head.

"You aren't terrible, Asahi-san!" Noya said a bit too loudly that people turn to look at him. "Asahi-san's voice is so soothing to listen to and your song lyrics are all things everyone can relate to! I really look up to you!”

Asahi looked surprised for a moment, his tanned cheeks tinged with pink. He gave a bashful smile. “Can I be self-centered and take that compliment seriously, Nishinoya?” he asked shyly.

Noya nodded eagerly. “I mean everything I say, Asahi-san!” he said a little too enthusiastically that Asahi moves backward a little. “So it’s not self-centered if you believe them, you’re just accepting facts!”

Asahi laughed at that. The sound of it made warmth bloom in Noya’s chest enough to combat the night air, and he almost forgot that he was the one who needed comforting after such a blunder as tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bro im just writing this as i go and never wrote any outline for this whole thing so it's pretty messy!! i would appreciate any comments and kudos, thank you so much for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

It was exactly six years ago that Noya first decided to learn how to play the guitar. Currently, he's a musician in what was doing pretty good for an indie band, not too popular and not too unpopular to be disbanding any time soon. The band was at least signed to an indie label which was already a lot more than what other bands had achieved, and sometimes they even placed high on the indies chart (not in the top 10, unfortunately, but Noya was sure they would get there).

He had come to Tokyo with the bullshit excuse of studying at a university. It took him only two years to pass the entrance exam despite his parents assuring him that it was okay how many years it took as long as he went to school, with most of his focus being on practicing with his band and how to earn money to spend on the band. He still went to his university most of the time, and was fortunately still passing most of his classes thanks to Chikara always beating the lessons into his head just like he used to do back in high school. He’d be totally lost without his friend.

They weren’t bandmates anymore. Chikara had found a new dream in filmmaking and he sure seemed pretty serious about it, going to his classes diligently and writing up as much stories as he could. It reminded Noya of how serious Ryu was when he decided to take over the Tanaka family restaurant back in Miyagi instead of going to Tokyo with his friends.

Noya sighed as he walked aimlessly down the city streets. All his current friends were busy this early in the morning, with classes and part-time jobs and trying to catch up on the sleep needed to be a functioning university student. He decided to go to this coffee shop that Yachi mentioned enthusiastically before, not being disappointed by the stylish interior: shiny wooden tables that gave the place a homey feel, cushioned chairs, sleek glass display cases containing delicious-looking pastries, and uniquely-shaped pendant lights above each table. _Those lights look like testicles,_ Noya thought absently as he got a cup of coffee and a danish pastry before settling at one of the many tables.

There weren't a lot of people right now, just a few students poring over their notes and a few people like Noya who were having breakfast alone. Noya checked out those people, he liked to observe them and secretly listen in on their conversations if they were loud enough. Maybe he could even find some inspiration to write a song. He did that one time, when some middle-aged women were gossiping about how one of them was worried about a possibly cheating husband.

He looked around the café more closely as he started on eating his breakfast. No middle-aged women. The students seemed to be too focused on their notes for Noya to be able to hear some juicy gossip, and the old men were just reading today’s newspaper. He sighed again and just checked out his socials. He wasn’t really very good with social networking, just appreciated the memes and funny videos that Tanaka sent him.

The glass door of the café opened, Noya perking at the pleasant sound of the bell.

It’s a good thing he was holding neither his coffee nor his pastry, for he would have dropped it accidentally at how unprepared he was to see Asahi walking inside the café, clad in a dress shirt that hugged his form and equally form-fitting slacks. He still kept his hair long, in a neat low bun, and he had on that beard Noya remembered him having grown when Asahi was a third year and Nishinoya was a sophomore in high school. A few details Noya noticed was a briefcase and a blazer in one of his hands.

Noya watched Asahi greet the cashier with a small smile and probably order something. He looked… As handsome as ever, but in a more mature, adult way. His back looked broader than it had been years ago, and his hair looked more polished instead of the wild look he had told Noya he was going for.

Noya swallowed the lump in his throat. He wanted to talk to him. Wanted to know what happened years ago, when a few months after Asahi graduated from high school and went to Tokyo to do the exact going to university and trying to make it as a musician in the city Noya was struggling with now, their band suddenly announced disbandment on their social media account. Noya had been devastated. Hell, it was the biggest shock he’d ever had in his life back then. He tried to contact Asahi through every way that he had just for an explanation but found that Asahi didn’t use the number that he had anymore and that the older boy closed all his social media accounts.

_It’s not like you to avoid confrontation, _Ryu had told him before. Noya had made that sentence his mantra in life whenever he needed to talk to someone. He took one last swig of coffee before getting up to go to the counter, where Asahi was chatting with the orange-haired barista as he fixed his order.

“Asahi-san.”

When Asahi turned to look at him, he looked just a bit as shocked as Noya had been when he saw him. Or maybe even more shocked as Noya, with how his eyes widened as he flinched and stepped away from Noya.

“Nishinoya…” he said slowly. The sound of his voice saying his name tugged at something in Noya’s chest. Funny how something like a past adolescent crush had this effect on him. Asahi straightened his back, standing taller than Noya had remembered him. He scratched his cheek. He was uncomfortable, was what that told Noya. “I-It’s… been a long time, huh?”

“Yeah.” Noya forced a smile. The barista glanced at the two of them oddly, eyes asking Asahi if anything was wrong and if he needed to escape from this situation. Asahi must be a regular here if the barista was that concerned. “You look great.”

“Um. Thanks.” Asahi nibbled at his lower lip. “You too. Uh… You look great.”

The barista clears his throat to get their attention. Asahi gets the small paperbag and to-go coffee cup that the barista hands him, thanking him and telling him rather loudly that he was late to work and had to get going now, obviously to get Noya off his back.

“Bye then, Nishinoya. It was, um. G-good to see you.” Asahi started to scurry off past Noya, not stopping when Noya loudly called his name.

Noya sighed as he stared at Asahi’s receding back through the panels of the glass door. Well, that was it. If he had been the childish, impulsive Noya of the past he may have run after him, but now that he was more mature he could take a hint that Asahi was avoiding him.

“Mr Customer.” The little barista (well, he was a tiny bit taller than Noya but he was still small) had his hands on his hips. “I don’t know what the deal is with you and Asahi-san but he looked really uncomfortable. Who are you? A crazy stalker ex-boyfriend?”

Noya couldn’t help but laugh at that. This barista kid had a ridiculously serious look on his face. “I’m not.” He added as an afterthought: “I wish.”

The barista’s expression softened into one of surprise. “Oh? Who are you then? A rejected admirer?”

Noya thought about it. Asahi had referred to him as his friend on multiple occasions before, but Noya couldn’t bring himself to say it. Friends didn’t ghost friends. Moreover, Asahi was the person he had aspired to be, the person who inspired him to create a career out of music that led him all the way out here into the city.

“A fan,” Noya said finally.

“A fan?” Ginger barista quirked an eyebrow at him. “Was Asahi-san an idol in the past or something?”

Noya blinked. His lips slowly curved into a smile that evolved into chuckles that in turn eventually erupted into boisterous laughter. “An idol?! What made you think that?! You’re a pretty funny kid, hey! What’s your name?”

“Hinata Shouyou, part-timer!” the kid introduced himself cheerfully, seemingly pleased at being called funny.

“Shouyou, huh? I’m Nishinoya Yuu. Noya.” Noya grinned at him. He leaned over the counter now, resting his arm on it. “He probably never told you but Asahi-san was in a band back in high school.”

Both Shouyou’s eyes and mouth widened. “A band? That’s really cool! Some of my friends are in bands too, sometimes I go and watch them and…” Shouyou babbles on and on about how his friends played in live houses. It turns out that Noya knew a handful of Shouyou’s friends as they were in the same scene, and it inflates his ego to have Shouyou’s eyes sparkling at the newfound knowledge that Noya played in a band with _the _Kageyama Tobio, who had gotten a bit of media attention since he was dubbed a guitar genius at a young age and was _so _cool that Noya absolutely had to be cool too.

A buzz on his phone signals a text from Chikara that he would be going to class soon, and that Noya better get his ass going so Chikara didn’t have to repeat the whole lecture to him again once they got home.

“Hey Shouyou, I gotta go for now,” Noya said with a grin. Shouyou whined, saying he wouldn’t have anyone to talk to now and that it was so _boring _ during morning shifts. “I’ll come again to chat soon, okay? Then tell me about Asahi-san! Deal?”

Shouyou nodded enthusiastically. “Bye-bye, Noya-san!” he said cheerfully, seemingly pleased with having made a new friend. Something told Noya the boy often made friends easily, and he looked forward to seeing him again and maybe get some information from him about Asahi’s current life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa, a freakin' time slip?! you know us hq stans are allergic to these kinds of things! i shudder at my own decision to suddenly fast-forward this but i already wrote it... this will probably have like a non-linear narrative and have lots of flashbacks!
> 
> if you have any suggestions on who to put on noya's new band i would be interested to hear! because i wrote this with absolutely no plan whatsoever and just writing whatever lol
> 
> also you guys! i followed that tip that you should use comic sans when writing and the words will flow out of you, for some reason it really worked for me! do try it out!


	4. Chapter 4

Despite working Noya to the bone when he tutored him and the fact that he was always ready to roast Noya when he did something stupid, Chikara was actually a great friend to Noya. The two of them are almost as close as Noya was to Ryu, except that Chikara was the sensible friend and was _nothing_ like Ryu. Ryu was always ready to do the dumbest of things with Noya, while Chikara was the only one with the brain that worked to prevent the dumb things from happening. 

So it shouldn’t have been a surprise when Noya talked about stupid things as usual and Chikara saw straight through him.

“Did something happen?” Chikara asked once Noya finished telling him how those lights in the café that Yachi recommended looked like balls. He raised an eyebrow at Noya as they walked towards the lecture hall. “You’re being weird.”

“I’m not,” Noya argued. Chikara’s sleepy-looking but still menacing eyes got to him once they were seated at the lecture hall. “Okay, fine. I met Asahi-san at that café and it was super awkward.”

Chikara looked more awake for a second. “You mean your first gay crush ever?”

“Whose gay crush?” Hisashi asked as he took the seat beside Chikara, looking over his shoulder curiously.

“Noya’s,” Chikara answered casually, eyes not leaving Noya’s gaze. “He totally had a crush back in high school but he never told us-“

The professor entering the lecture hall was the only thing that kept Noya from strangling Chikara on the spot.

-

Noya became good enough acquaintances with Asahi when he was in his second year of high school and Asahi was in his third. Their high schools were only a few minutes away from each other, so Asahi never really seemed to mind whenever Noya asked him to accompany him to music shops to get some recommendations on what effect pedals to buy or what guitar strings would last longer because Noya kept breaking them. Asahi also tried his best to give Noya advice about things like song-writing although he was always about giving Noya bad advice.

At least those were the excuses Noya used to meet him.

Sure, Asahi in real life was kind of uncool in comparison to how he was on stage when Noya thought about it, with his confidence being close to zero and his ability to make up the most absurd things to overthink about. But Asahi was also caring. Asahi was gentle. Asahi smiled the loveliest smile ever whenever Noya complimented him or whenever he saw a cute dog. He also smelled really, _really _nice and had the softest hair (that Noya had managed to touch after lying that there was a leaf on it).

Noya told a lot of lies in order to be with Asahi. He didn’t like the feeling of it at all; didn’t like himself when he reveled in the way Asahi was determined to help him out and make time for him whenever he asked.  
  
So he decided that he would tell him the truth after Asahi’s performance tonight.

The live house was a lot more crowded than it was the first time Noya watched their band perform. Karasu also got to play a lot more songs with their current popularity, which enabled them to show more of what they had in store.

_“You smiled as if this would fill a room full of blank spaces…_ _”_

“Wow, this song is super romantic,” Ryu whispered to him, as if he would ruin the atmosphere of the ballad currently being performed if he said it any louder. Noya didn’t even know Ryu _had_ the ability to whisper. His friend had been coming with him to most of Karasu’s lives in order to see Kiyoko. “You think we’ll be able to perform something like this one day?”

Noya thought about it. A slow song, that started with a calming piano intro, with lyrics conveying a love that couldn’t be put in words. It was a beautiful song, if Noya could say so himself.

“Ryu, you said it was so boring when we tried to cover that one ballad,” Noya finally reminded his friend with a chuckle. “I guess it doesn’t suit us.”

“I guess you’re right,” Ryu agreed. He held up a closed fist. “Just wait and I’ll write you a romantic ballad, Kiyoko-san.”

It’s Asahi that comes up to him after the performance, smiling and waving. Noya knew by now that Asahi actually preferred that they chat outside and not inside where it was loud and full of sweaty drunk people, so they went outside in silent agreement, leaning against the wall at the side of the livehouse.

“Asahi-san! You were cool tonight as usual!” Noya greeted once they were out in the somewhat damp street. Apparently it had rained while the live was ongoing, but thankfully it had stopped now and Noya didn’t have to worry about his carefully-styled hair being ruined.

“Thanks.” Asahi still turned a little red, but he had become accustomed albeit pleased with Noya’s continuous shower of compliments. “Um, Nishinoya. I wanted to talk to you about something. Two things actually.”

Noya’s eyes widened in surprise. He didn’t want to think too hard about it but maybe Asahi was getting a little annoyed of him always wanting to hang out with him? “Yeah? What is it, Asahi-san?”

Asahi scratched at the back of his head, red from cheeks all the way to the tips of his ears. He was still thankfully smiling so it couldn’t be too bad. “I, uh. You’re my friend so I want you to know that I recently got a girlfriend.”

Oh. Noya was really stupid. How could he not have thought of that? Of course Asahi had a girlfriend. He was kind, caring, did his best to help out losers like Noya who secretly pined over him.

“Oh,” was all Noya could bring himself to say. Which was probably wrong because now Asahi was panicking.

“I-I wasn’t trying to brag or anything!” Asahi cried defensively, waving both his hands in panic. “I just… I wanted you to know. In case you think I'm ignoring you or avoiding you when I can't hang out.”

Noya nodded slowly. He forced himself to smile. “Because we’re friends, right?” There was a faint ache in his chest as he said it.

“Yeah.” Asahi leaned back against the wall. “Daichi said it couldn’t be made public for popularity purposes. I’m not popular but Kiyoko has a lot of fans so of course-“ he clamped a hand over his mouth in shock.

“So the mystery girlfriend is Kiyoko-san, huh,” Noya laughed, trying not to sound too bitter although the words left a bitter taste in his mouth. _Of course._ They were together all the time in school and in band practices, Kiyoko would have gotten to know Asahi better and have seen what a great person he was.

“Er, don’t tell anyone, okay?” Asahi begged him rather pathetically. He let out a sigh when Noya agreed. “And the other thing I wanted to tell you… Noya, do you have any future plans?”

“Future plans?” Noya hadn’t even gotten over the shock of having been utterly rejected before he could even get his confession out yet and now Asahi was asking about his future plans. He felt exhausted and just wanted to go home. “Why?”

“Well, uh. Me and the guys. And Kiyoko.” Asahi nibbled on his lower lip a little before continuing: “After graduation we’ll go to Tokyo for university and try to make it there. As a band.”

Oh. Right. Asahi and his bandmates were third years now, a whole year ahead of Noya. They seemed like proper adults, thinking of their future seriously while Noya hadn’t even so much as thought of life after graduation, just trying to have as much fun as he could.

“Nishinoya, you absolutely have to come to Tokyo as well.”

“What?” Noya was snapped out of his thoughts. He didn’t have any idea why Asahi would want him to come to Tokyo. “_Why?_”

“You… You have a natural talent for music, Nishinoya. I don’t know, I just think if anyone would be able to make it in the industry, it would definitely be you.” Asahi smiled at him, bright with a hint of pride. “I’ll make sure I’m not left behind you though.

The two of them chat for a little more until Noya gave the excuse that he felt really tired and wanted to go home. Asahi looked worried about him but walked back inside with him to tell Ryu he was going home.

“Kiyoko-san totally ignored me again! She was so pretty! I would let her use my head as part of her drum set if she asked!” Ryu told him happily as he hugged himself on the way home.

“Ryu,” Noya said his name slowly. It was a secret, but he didn’t want his friend to have the same hope that he had for Asahi only to be completely heartbroken. “Kiyoko-san has a boyfriend.”

“What?!” Ryu stopped in his tracks, the look on his face a mix of shock and horror. He grabbed Noya’s arms and shook him. “A boyfriend?! Who?! Who should I fight for Kiyoko-san’s love?!” 

“Ryu, let me go, your breath stinks,” Noya protested weakly. He really didn’t feel like pretending to be all silly and chipper right now. “She and Asahi-san are dating.”

“Oh.” Ryu stopped his movements. He let go of Noya and slowly started walking again. “Asahi-san, huh? Isn’t he kind of a wuss? What could have made Kiyoko-san want to date him?”

That was probably the only time he punched Ryu in the entire lifespan of their friendship. Noya had already pushed him to the ground and given him a nasty swelling of the cheek when he realized he was breathing hard and not thinking properly.

“What the fuck, Noya?! I’m sorry okay! I forgot you were practically in love with him and that he was a really nice guy, sorry.” It took a while for Noya to calm down and let him go. Ryu sighed. He stood, pulling Noya up with him by the arms, and dusted the dirt off of his pants. He slung an arm around Noya’s shoulders. “Come on, dude. Let’s get home.”

“Sorry,” Noya mumbled as they continued walking. He thought about how Ryu said he was in love with Asahi. Was it that obvious? Was it even _love_? Noya hadn’t told anyone about his feelings, too afraid of judgment. Even his two best friends weren’t made aware of it.

“Hey, no problem. I was being an asshole. I deserved that,” Ryu laughed. He was a simple guy who could forgive and forget and admit his mistakes. Noya admired him for that. 

“Ryu, he’s-“ Noya swallowed the lump in his throat. It wasn’t just him. “They’re leaving.”

“Huh? Who?”

“Their whole band. Asahi-san, Daichi-san, Suga-san, Kiyoko-san.” Hell, Noya would miss _them, _too. Daichi and Suga were great guys as well who were always friendly to him and his band, and Kiyoko wasn’t really friendly but would sometimes go out of her way to give band rookies some snacks.

“Huh.” Ryu hummed thoughtfully. “That’s like a double heartbreak for us, huh.”

Nishinoya Yuu was in his second year of high school when he experienced his first heartbreak. What Asahi said about writing your feelings into songs was great advice, as he managed to write a few songs out of his experience. At least something good came out of it, even though at the time it was so painful that he was practically crying himself to sleep every night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Asahi was singing is Hana to Shijin (Flower and Poet) by Lamp in Terren, please listen to it it's a beautiful song! I got that one sentence translation from https://lyricstranslate.com/en/花と詩人-poet-flower.html. Aramajapan described it as "a love ballad written through the eyes of clumsy man that is attempting to convey how he feels." and who is a man who is clumsy with his feelings ofc it's Asahi and also Noya in this fic

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments! My twt is @ugaytsu :)
> 
> ps this is a multi-chaptered fic but im on mobile rn and it's not really checking the multi-chaptered option, will fix when I'm on pc!


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